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As the Gang of Six tries to sell their $4 trillion debt-reduction plan on both sides of the Capitol, most observers in Washington are trying to figure out if this plan has a snowball’s chance of surviving. I don’t have the answer to that yet, but as the details get pounded out, I think it is the most viable, credible, long-term solution on the table right now. And regardless of the substance, it’s politically powerful. And that may be what takes it over the finish line.

These six senators have had the political courage to do what either leadership has not. To sit across the table from each other, not for show, but to actually discuss proposals they don’t like for the sake of trying to find a compromise that can pass.

It’s not perfect – because perfect by any single faction’s definition can’t pass. Everyone is going to have to accept a little of something they don’t like and don’t want to defend at home. But the Gang of Six is doing exactly what the American people have signaled they expect - for Washington to get real, stop bickering and do the hard work that moves the country forward.

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